blueteacup's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Thrust is a highly surreal, highly conceptual book that doesn’t shy away from graphic sexuality. While I enjoyed this book for its interesting premise, characters and setting, I did have some problems with certain plot threads falling flat and unneeded details that led to me feeling a bit uncomfortable.
I loved Laisve as a character and protagonist. Though she was sometimes difficult to understand (on purpose), I enjoyed exploring her quirks (such as listing things incessantly) and mature insight into other people’s lives. She’s a kind girl who’s circumstances and powers make her into an odd duck. I also really enjoyed the futuristic setting of The Brooks. A city half underwater and plagued by raids on immigrants seems like a logical conclusion to the climate crisis and attacks on immigrants present in modern day America. Emphasizing the struggles of the country in modern day through both past and future settings made for interesting commentary on how history repeats itself.
My problems with the book lie mostly in plot threads that seem to go nowhere or wrap up unsatisfyingly, and the uncomfortable incestuous relationship between Aurora and Frederich. I felt that the story line with Lily felt very unsatisfying to me, and, while I understand this book is in part about sex, I don’t think having her have a very fulfilling sexual experience really had anything to do with her problems relating to her father and brother. I got what she was going for with the coffin scene, but it just didn’t do it for me. I also found the relationship between Frederich and his cousin Aurora to be deeply uncomfortable. I understand that it takes place in a different time period when having sex with your cousin was a more normal thing to do, but the sex scenes between them were described so graphically and almost voyeuristically that it surpassed all that Yuknavitch was trying to say about sexual deviancy, and just made me deeply uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Xenophobia
Minor: Racism
vigil's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this book was so weird and bizarre that i have no idea how to give it a review. I cannot in good conscience recommended to someone but I would love for more people to read it, and I say that because it is too weird to pitch to a person.
the writing is beautiful and untraditional, switching between “regular prose,” epistolary, and ethnography (?) formats. the author discusses child labor and abuse, feminism, sex work, disability, how young men are groomed into violence, water, the past, nature, humanity, linguistics, knowledge, etc etc.
if i tried to discuss everything In this book would be here all day. i do think at certain points the book was stuffed full to bursting of these themes, but she did so much of what I enjoyed, in such a way, that i did not mind, though I do think certain people absolutely would.
this book read like a fever dream. It was out of bounds of what is normally considered the “literary standard” (whatever the hell that may be). it is written nonlinearly; it has a plot, but the plot is meant to serve the greater purpose of the narrative and is unconcerned on telling a cut and dry straightforward story.
i don’t think this is anywhere near an adequate review of the book, but it’s the only one I can provide. this is a book that you really just need to read and decide for yourself about.
the writing is beautiful and untraditional, switching between “regular prose,” epistolary, and ethnography (?) formats. the author discusses child labor and abuse, feminism, sex work, disability, how young men are groomed into violence, water, the past, nature, humanity, linguistics, knowledge, etc etc.
if i tried to discuss everything In this book would be here all day. i do think at certain points the book was stuffed full to bursting of these themes, but she did so much of what I enjoyed, in such a way, that i did not mind, though I do think certain people absolutely would.
this book read like a fever dream. It was out of bounds of what is normally considered the “literary standard” (whatever the hell that may be). it is written nonlinearly; it has a plot, but the plot is meant to serve the greater purpose of the narrative and is unconcerned on telling a cut and dry straightforward story.
i don’t think this is anywhere near an adequate review of the book, but it’s the only one I can provide. this is a book that you really just need to read and decide for yourself about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Grief, Death, and Child abuse
mmccombs's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a wild, twisty, time travel-y ride. I sometimes had a hard time following the action, but I loved the circular plot and everything it had to say about our (dis)connection to the Earth. It was hopeful and very human, also very kinky! Give me more talking whales and turtles and grumpy worms. I don’t think this is a book that will be universally embraced, but it was full of stunning imagery, prose, and messages.
"Do not be afraid. We are with you into the everything. We are in the air and the water and the earth, the plants and the animals. We are even in the night sky; we are made from everything in the cosmos. We arrive, we leave, we emerge, we dissolve. We are in the meteor, in this tsumami, in all the bones of whales on the floors of the world's oceans. All the fish and creatures, all the roots and branches of trees, everything reaching into everything else.”
"Do not be afraid. We are with you into the everything. We are in the air and the water and the earth, the plants and the animals. We are even in the night sky; we are made from everything in the cosmos. We arrive, we leave, we emerge, we dissolve. We are in the meteor, in this tsumami, in all the bones of whales on the floors of the world's oceans. All the fish and creatures, all the roots and branches of trees, everything reaching into everything else.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia
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